The Forgotten Ones

Sworn Brothers

14. Chapter 13: Guilt.

Later that morning, Lord Celeborn took Thranduil to the house of healing to treat the marks on his back, in hopes of making the scars fade. Celeborn took off the elfling’s shirt to find that the more recent marks were healing very well and the scars were beginning to fade. Some of them looked like they had gone untreated. Celeborn asked Thranduil about this.

“Have you ever been seen by a healer before?” asked Celeborn.

“A... Oropher did not allow me to. He said I did not deserve to be seen by a healer,” said Thranduil.

Celeborn never wanted to hurt anyone in his life before, but at that moment he wanted to kill Oropher. Thranduil sensed the anger from Celeborn and backed away from him.

“What is the matter little one?” asked Celeborn.

“Please do not be angry with me,” said Thranduil.

“I am not angry with you,” said Celeborn.

“If you are not angry with me, why are you angry?” asked Thranduil.

“I am angry with Oropher, because of what he did to you,” said Celeborn. “Why did you think I was angry with you?”

“I am a bad elfling, I made my Nana go away,” said Thranduil.

“Thranduil, you did not make your Nana go away,” said Celeborn.

“Then why did she go away?” asked Thranduil.

“Thranduil, as you grow older, you will learn that there are some questions for which there are no answers,” said Celeborn. “I was there at your birth and I don’t know why your Naneth went away, but if I could not prevent her from going away, then certainly you could not have either.”

This answer seemed to satisfy the little elfling’s questions. Thranduil began to believe that it really was not his fault.

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